The FIA was established under the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA), 2013 to prohibit and prevent money laundering and the financing of terrorism. Its mission is to foster the integrity of the financial system through effective detection and prevention of financial crimes.

The International Standards on Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT), requires that countries should identify, assess and understand the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (ML/TF) risks that they are exposed to, and should take action at ensuring that the risks identified are mitigated effectively. In fulfillment of this requirement,the Government of Uganda through the Ministry of Finance,Planning and Economic Development, under the co-ordination of the Financial Intelligence Authority (FIA), conducted a national